The Wizard of Oz (Ozu no Mahotsukai) is a 1982 Japanese anime feature film directed by Fumihiko Takayama, from a screenplay by Yoshimitsu Banno and Akira Miyazaki, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum and W. W. Denslow, produced by Yoshimitsu Banno and Katsumi Ueno for Toho Co, Ltd.

A version edited by Johann Lowenberg and produced and directed by John Danylkiw first appeared on television in the United States in 1982. Alan L. Gleitsman was the executive producer for his own Alan Enterprises. It was distributed in English-speaking countries by Paramount Pictures.

Contents

Plot

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are out running an errand and Dorothy is left tending the farm alone. A tornado approaches and Uncle Henry can't rush back in time. Dorothy is knocked out by a chair when the tornado hits their farmhouse.

Dorothy meets and helps the Scarecrow get down from his pole. Then she finds and oils the Tin Man. The Lion attacks them until Dorothy hits him on the nose.

They are then attacked by a Kalidah and the Tin Man cuts down a tree which they use to cross the ravine, then he chops it in half and the creature falls in.

When they get to the Emerald City, Jellia Jamb says the Wizard can see them and they each see different manifestations of him. Dorothy sees a giant head, the Scarecrow sees a beautiful lady, the Tin Man sees a beast, and the Lion sees a ball of fire. The Wizard agrees to help them all only if they get rid of the Wicked Witch of the West, so they set out to do that.

The witch sees them coming and sends out minions to attack them. First she sends magical wolves, which the Tin Man defeats with his axe. Then she sends out crows, which the Scarecrow confronts. After he draws them together, they form a giant one. The Scarecrow asks for the oil can they had previously used on the Tin Man. When Dorothy gives it to him, he throws it at the giant crow which coats it in oil. He then instructs the Tin Man to create a spark with his metal body and it sets the bird on fire, destroying it.

The witch later sends out her Winged Monkeys, telling them that they should capture the group instead of destroying them. They don't tie up Dorothy because she has the mark of the Good Witch of the North on her forehead

Dorothy refuses to give the slippers to the witch and runs off, being chased by soldiers. After Toto chews the Lion free of his bonds, he runs off to help, and manages to catch Dorothy as she is falling off a collapsing bridge. She hugs him in thanks, and they continue fleeing the witch's pursuit.

The witch ties them up with ropes but Dorothy is again protected. She chases her up a flight of stairs and Dorothy pushes a big jug of water down them, soaking the witch and causing her to melt down into nothingness. All her magical soldiers vanish and the Winkies, who were her slaves, are free and dance with joy.

Returning to the Emerald City, the Wizard tells them to come back later. Toto steps on a button revealing the Wizard's true identity. After the Tin Man threatens him with his axe, he explains his illusions, and to the trio of helpers that they already have wisdom, love, and courage.

He at first doesn't know how to get Dorothy back to Kansas, but she reminds him of the balloon he mentioned traveling to Oz in as a circus magician. She misses her chance to leave when Toto runs off.

Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, appears behind a sombre Dorothy, holding Toto in her arms, and explains to her how she can use the slippers to get back home, and she does.

English

Japanese

Trivia

The English dialogue for this movie was recorded first and the movie was not dubbed into Japanese for release in the country where it was animated until 1986. Although this movie is in no way related to the 1986 anime TV series, the fact that the movie was released in Japan in the same year that the TV series was being broadcast leads to the two works being confused.

The film is known for staying particularly close to the novel, its primary elimination being the journey to Glinda, making it slightly less of a deus ex machina than in the MGM verison. Also borrowed from that version are the red "magic shoes" rather than the silver shoes of Baum's text. Some familiarity with the later books is clear, as the houses are the same two-chimneyed domes found in the artwork of John R. Neill, who did not illustrate the first Oz book. It is one of the few adaptations to depict the various forms that the Wizard appears to each of the travelers, such as the Beautiful Lady (shown to be a puppet rather than the Wizard in a costume as in the book), the Terrible Beast (looking like an ordinary rhinoceros) and the Ball of Fire.